Why Did You Come to Japan?
| Why did you come to Japan? | |
|---|---|
 TV Tokyo interviewers at Narita Airport in December 2013 | |
| Also known as | YOUは何しに日本へ？ |
| Presented by | Osamu Shitara and Yūki Himura (Bananaman) |
| Voices of | |
| Narrated by | Bobby Ologun |
| Country of origin | Japan |
| Original language | Japanese |
| Original release | |
| Network | TV Tokyo |
| Release | June 30, 2012 – present |
Why did you come to Japan? (YOUは何しに日本へ？, Yū wa Nani Shi ni Nippon e?) is a Japanese television programme presented by Osamu Shitara and Yūki Himura, a comedy duo known as "Bananaman". It is a regular programme on TV Tokyo on Monday evenings.[1] The show was first broadcast in the form of two pilot shows in June and October 2012 before becoming a recurring series, airing late on Wednesday nights starting 9 January 2013.[2] Due to its popularity, it was moved to the prime time evening slot on Mondays beginning with the episode broadcast on 15 April 2013, where it has been airing (with slight time changes) ever since.[2][3] In the programme, a team of interviewers go around various airports in Japan, with Narita International Airport as their main reporting hub, and ask non-Japanese arrivals "Why did you come to Japan?". They then attempt to follow the interviewees on their journeys around Japan, in a process called mitchaku shuzai (密着取材, lit. "close-contact reporting"). A question posed for departees is, "What souvenir did you buy?" Besides interviewing people at airports, another skit tries to find non-English teaching foreigners in randomly chosen cities throughout Japan.
The show is narrated by Nigerian-born TV personality Bobby Ologun, with additional voiceovers provided by Daniel Kahl and Carolyn Kawasaki.[citation needed] A special episode aired on November 12, 2018 had members of girl group Nogizaka46, of whom Bananaman are so-called "official brothers", as guest interviewers.[4] The programme has featured coincidental encounters with celebrities at the airport, including British actor Benedict Cumberbatch[5] and American former baseball player Leron Lee.[6]
References
- ^ "『YOUは何しに日本へ？』が4月から放送時間90分に拡大でゴールデン進出！MCは引き続きバナナマン ｜ テレビ関連ニュース [テレビドガッチ]". Dogatch.jp. 13 March 2013. Archived from the original on 30 July 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
- ^ a b Hirai, Kei. "『YOUは何しに日本へ？』なぜ人気なのか プロデューサーを直撃「キーワードは愛」" (in Japanese). MSN Topics. Archived from the original on 20 May 2013. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
- ^ "「日本が好きだから」外国人たちの思いに日本の魅力を振り返る『YOUは何しに日本へ？』の多幸感". Excite News (in Japanese). Retrieved 31 August 2013.
- ^ "YOUは何しに日本へ？に乃木坂46がガチ参戦！アイドルだけど超本気コラボで汗と涙の3時間SP | テレ東からのお知らせ ： テレビ東京". テレビ東京 (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- ^ 14回目の放送は・・・ [14th broadcast]. Back number broadcast 26 August 2013 (in Japanese). TV Tokyo Corporation. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
- ^ 16回目の放送は・・・ [16th broadcast]. Back number broadcast 16 September 2013 (in Japanese). TV Tokyo Corporation. Retrieved 17 September 2013.
External links
- Official website (in Japanese)
- Why Did You Come to Japan? at IMDb